Computer systems often perform data storage and data removal by independent processes. Data may be stored in databases by writing the data to the databases as the data is input to the system. In order to reduce the aggregated amount of storage space being used to store data, a portion of the data may be periodically removed or expired using purging processes known as “reaper processes” or “garbage collectors.” One exemplary method iterates or searches through the database to determine which data, such as older data, to purge from the database.